


Lover, I’ll Be Home

by plinys



Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-24
Updated: 2015-04-24
Packaged: 2018-03-25 11:36:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3808927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plinys/pseuds/plinys
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Suddenly the bed seems too empty, the whole house seems too empty.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lover, I’ll Be Home

**Author's Note:**

  * For [thirstforfirth (QueenOfSparrabeth)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenOfSparrabeth/gifts).



> Dedicated to the wonderful Liz who prompted and beta'd this! :)

Rationally, he knows he has nothing to worry about.

He knows that Harry’s perfectly capable of handling himself, the mission he’s been sent on is so simple a trainee could do it, and that Harry will be back by the time he wakes up.

But then he remembers another mission that was classified as that simple – a trip to a church for  _ information gathering  _ that had turned out so much worse – and the rational part of his brain seems to shut down.

Suddenly the bed seems too empty, the whole house seems too empty, haunted with familiar ghosts and the echo of a gunshot heard through a computer screen.

His hand gropes towards the bedside table, grabbing his glasses and shoving them onto his face even though it’s too dark to see anything. For a second he lies there, the frames digging into the side of his face as he rolls over and hugs a pillow to his chest, before he finally presses a button along the side and asks for an “update on Arthur’s mission?”

He expects the monotone voice of one of Merlin’s many minions telling him that the mission is still ongoing or some other practically meaningless information, but instead he gets the sound of soft ringing in reply.

The tone only lasts for second before a familiar voice greets him almost hesitantly. 

“Eggsy?”

Damn it.

The last thing he wanted was for Harry to hear him like this, but there was no going back now. Slowly he replies, “Hey, Harry.”

“Merlin said you needed something?”

He really was going to have to have a talk with Merlin later about being an interfering bastard who needs to learn to mind his own damn business.

“I just wanted one of the minions to tell me what you were up to – but they had to go and transfer the fucking call. Sorry to bother you, I’ll just go, yeah?” Eggsy mumbles, already reaching up to pull his glasses off.

“I don’t mind the distraction,” Harry says, voice soft and comforting. Eggsy’s hand stills halfway to the frames at the sound of it, falling back to the bed with newfound ease. “In fact, I welcome it. The flight back is rather boring and I’ve had quite enough paperwork for one lifetime as it is.”

“You’re Arthur,” Eggsy points out, “paperwork is all you should be doing.” On any other night his teasing tone might have sounded more believable.

“Unfortunately,” Harry responds dryly, and Eggsy can almost imagine the expression on his face – the one of polite distaste that Harry likes to pretend he’s too classy to wear.

Thinking about that brings the smallest of smiles to Eggsy’s face.

If Harry were here he would press a kiss to the corner of his frown until it went away, then he would be kissing other places – but Harry wasn’t here; he was miles away on a plane heading back from Hong Kong.

“I’m surprised you’re still awake,” Harry says, when the silence lulls between them for a moment.  

“Early morning,” Eggsy says as he squints at the clock, but his eyes are still a bit watery and the bright lights make the numbers blur so that it’s nearly impossible to make out what time it is.

There’s a careful sigh on the other end of the line before Harry says, “It’s two in the morning.”

“Late night?” Eggsy offers instead, knowing already that it’s not the right answer.

“That sounds more like it.” Harry says sounding the slightest bit fond as his voice carries through the line, which is probably why Eggsy finally admits, “I can’t sleep.”

“Oh,  _ Eggsy _ .”

“The bed feels too big and empty and I tried to sleep, I really did, but I  _ can’t _ ,” he says, because now that the floodgates have been opened there’s no holding back, “and that’s not supposed to be a problem because I’ve been away before, on missions and stuff and I’m fine then. But it’s different this time, ‘cause  _ you’re  _ not here.”

It’s always been the other way around.

Either Eggsy went on missions while Harry stayed behind in London (his new role as Arthur requiring him to spend more time behind a desk than out in the field) or they’d been in the field together.

Being the one left behind while Harry was gone – well, it was different to say the least, uncomfortably so.

“I miss you.”

And that’s not fair, because Harry’s not allowed to say things like that, not when he’s already this close to breaking down. 

“Just come home safe, please.”

“I promise.”

“You better,” he says, and he means it to be teasing, but it comes out so desperate that he immediately wishes he could take the words back.

Harry must sense as much, because he falls silent as well.

For a second  Eggsy thinks that’s it, that Harry’s hung up and gone back to his paperwork instead of dealing with Eggsy’s emotional issues, but then Harry has always had a way of surprising him.

“I worry about you, when you’re on missions and I’m the one back home,” Harry says softly. “There was one time, when you were in Spain with Ector, do you remember?”

He knows in the back of his mind that the story’s being told for his benefit, that Harry in his own way is trying to help. And so he plays along. “Yeah?”

“I had Merlin keeping me constantly updated, to the point where he threatened to sedate me if I didn’t stop asking about you every five minutes.” Harry chuckles softly at that. “I think he meant it as a joke, but sometimes it’s hard to tell.”

“You can say that again.”

“If you remember, that mission of yours was a bit more  _ exciting _ than usual.”

Eggsy remembers that mission well. It had been fun – and by fun he meant they’d blown up two buildings, lost contact with their handlers for about ten minutes, and barely managed to make it out alive.

“Exciting is one way to put it.”

“Those few minutes after the explosion and before you reached the extraction point were the worst moments of my life. The thought of losing you… it was something I refused to accept.”

Eggsy knew that feeling all too well: it was the one that kept him awake at night.

“I’m honestly not quite certain how I carried on before you came along,” Harry admits, “but I know now that I won’t be able to without you.”

“Yeah, well, the feeling’s mutual.”  


End file.
